NORTHUMBRIA University has organised the first North-East ‘summit’ on tackling lad culture on campus.

The event on Wednesday April 15 will be held at Newcastle Business School between 1pm and 5pm and is open to all staff and students from higher education institutions in the North- East.

It will seek to raise awareness of laddism, identify how prevalent it is and explore how it might best be tackled by staff and students.

In February 2014, the National Union of Students (NUS) set up a dedicated team to tackle the problem.

An NUS survey last September found that one-in-four students had suffered from unwelcome sexual advances.

That same month, the NUS launched a pilot project, which focused upon ten higher education institutions, in order to assess what lad culture looked like on their campuses and to investigate if and how it was being tackled.

Doctor Sue Abbott, from Newcastle Business School, said: “Lad culture has been described as sexist and homophobic language and behaviour rooted in a warped sense of masculinity. While some may dismiss it as ‘harmless’ and ‘just a bit of fun’, the research to date indicates that it leads to a whole set of problems on campus and in wider society. Importantly, this is also not just an issue for women; men also suffer in a lad culture that is oppressive and which defines masculinity in such narrow terms.”

As well as speakers there will be workshops for staff and students to look at practical ways of tackling lad culture on campus.